what properties do glucose and other saccharides have that make them suitable for energy production?

Answer 1

First, we have to ask ourselves, is glucose heavily oxidized or reduced?

Oxidized molecules = fewer electrons to offer

Reduced molecules = full of electrons to offer

Why does this matter?

A molecule that is heavily reduced has a lot of energy to offer in the form of electrons.

With this piece of information in mind, think about what happens to glucose as it goes through glycolysis. Glucose gives off electrons (hence we know that it must be heavily reduced) to electron acceptor molecules (NADH). For every one glucose molecule, we get 2 net molecules of NADH, which are used for energy production.

This brings us back to your question. I would say that the fact that sugar molecules are heavily reduced is what makes them suitable for energy production.

Answer 2

High energy bonds?